Stella Gotal: A new era dawns for Gibraltar Women’s Football

by Stephen Ignacio

When Stella Gotal first walked into the Europa Sports Complex, it was not with the fanfare of a parade but with the quiet confidence of someone used to breaking new ground. Just hours earlier, the Gibraltar Football Association (GFA) had announced her as the new head coach of the women’s national team—an appointment that immediately turned heads both locally and further afield.
For Gibraltar, this is more than a new coaching appointment. It is a statement of intent. Women’s football in the territory has grown from grassroots enthusiasm to a developing international programme, but the next step—true professionalisation—has always seemed just out of reach. With Gotal’s arrival, that ambition suddenly feels closer.

A First of Many Firsts
Gotal, 27, is not just another coach with a UEFA Pro Licence. She is a trailblazer. Born in Ivanec, Croatia, her journey into football was anything but linear. As a young girl, she dabbled in karate, tennis and handball before football took hold of her heart. By 17, while still playing as a defender and occasionally as a goalkeeper, she began coaching.
“I was always curious about the game,” she has said in previous interviews. “Not just how to play it, but how to make others better at it.”
Within a few years, that curiosity became a calling. She became the youngest female national team coach in Europe when she took charge of Croatia’s U-17 women’s side, later earning recognition from her hometown of Lepoglava as Best Coach of the Year in 2019.

Building a Career Abroad
What followed was a career defined by bold moves. In 2023, Gotal accepted a challenge that few would have considered: to help build a women’s football structure from the ground up in Saudi Arabia. As head coach of the U-17 national team, she oversaw the creation of school leagues, regional training centres and youth tournaments in a country where women’s football was only just emerging.
Her tenure there, which concluded in June 2025, was marked not only by competitive progress but by a shift in perception. “We were not just coaching players; we were creating a pathway where none had existed before,” she reflected in a recent sports development forum.

What She Brings to Gibraltar
Gibraltar’s women’s national team stands at a crossroads. Under interim head coach Scott Wiseman, the team made its official debut in the UEFA Women’s Nations League—a milestone achievement that marked their entry into competitive European football. Now, with Gotal at the helm, the question is not whether the team can participate, but how far it can grow.
Her coaching philosophy is a blend of modern tactical awareness and an educator’s patience. Armed with a Master’s degree in Kinesiology, specialising in strength and conditioning, and her recently obtained UEFA Pro Licence, she places strong emphasis on holistic player development. “It’s about more than the 90 minutes,” she once said. “It’s about the mindset, the resilience, the ability to grow even when the odds are not in your favour.”
For a territory where the domestic women’s league is still largely amateur and many players juggle football with full-time jobs or studies, Gotal’s experience in building structures from scratch could prove invaluable.

The Challenges Ahead
Yet, the task is formidable. Gibraltar’s women’s team, while rich in spirit, operates within the constraints of a small player pool and limited professional pathways. Gotal’s first major challenge will be balancing immediate competitiveness with long-term development—two goals that often pull in opposite directions.
Can she raise the standard of play while also nurturing the next generation of players? Can she instil the kind of confidence and tactical discipline needed to compete against nations with far deeper infrastructures? And perhaps most importantly, can she inspire a cultural shift that sees women’s football in Gibraltar taken as seriously as its male counterpart?

A Quiet but Significant Debut
Gotal’s first official act as head coach came almost quietly. On the same day her appointment was announced, the Europa Sports Complex south stand was officially opened. Though she was not part of the ceremony, her presence was noted, and the symbolism was not lost: a new stand for fans, a new era for the women’s team.
The following day, she met her squad and attended the men’s friendly against Albania, seated alongside captain Shania Robba. For the players, this was their first chance to connect with a coach who has walked the line between player and pioneer, and who now holds their future in her planning folder.

A Coach with a Mission
If there is a theme that runs through Gotal’s career, it is one of building, often in places where women’s football had only just begun to find its footing. Gibraltar, in that sense, is a natural next step. She brings with her not just experience, but a vision: a pathway from grassroots to international stage, a belief that small nations can dream big.
Her immediate focus will be the ongoing UEFA Women’s Nations League campaign and preparations for the 2027 Women’s World Cup qualifiers. But her impact may well be measured in less tangible ways: the number of young girls inspired to pick up a ball, the quality of coaching introduced into the youth system, the professional standards adopted by a team eager to prove itself.

Looking Ahead
In the coming weeks, we will sit down with Stella Gotal to discuss her plans, her vision, and her journey from the streets of Ivanec to the touchlines of Gibraltar. For now, her arrival feels like a turning point—not only for the women’s national team, but for the entire landscape of women’s football in the territory.
Will she be the coach who takes Gibraltar from hopeful participants to genuine contenders? Time will tell. But if her résumé is anything to go by, change is not just coming—it has already walked through the door.